Mirko Loko - Seventynine Remixes

Mirko Loko - Seventynine Remixes
Of all the releases that flooded the market last year from Cadenza, few sounded like the Cadenza of old as much as Mirko Loko's Seventynine. Suffused with the sort of granular tribal house that Luciano's imprint perfected in the mid-'00s, it hearkened back to the days when Cadenza wasn't busy meeting distribution demands for a constant stream of product. It seems only right, then, for the remixers of Loko's work to be among some of the heaviest hitters in dance music. Carl Craig and Ricardo Villalobos are on hand here, each putting their unique stamp on this excellent slab of vinyl.

Craig is up first, and his take is typically epic, finding every bit of drama he can muster from the original and stretching to the breaking point. It's perhaps more understated than some of Craig's more bombastic reversionings due to the mix, which puts tribal percussion front and center. But the swirling synths that circle endlessly throughout its length are clearly there to pluck the heartstrings one by one. Villalobos, on the other hand, goes epic in a different way, finding pleasure—as he often does—in the suspension of time. If you're not a fan of the Berlin-based DJ/producer, this remix will likely have plenty of ammunition for your hatred: Chanting children, heavenly choir in the background, plenty of modular synth wonkiness. My advice: Sit back, relax and enjoy the show. That's clearly what the man who made it would want you to do anyway.